Book review: Truth & Beauty, by Anne Patchett

Anne Patchett is an undeniably talented writer. She took the type of subject matter that usually bores me within a couple of saccharin pages (women's friendships) and used it to write a memoir that was truly a page-turner. I tore through it in a day. I don't find the author's friendship with writer Lucy Grealy to be all that interesting or unique, but the beauty with which Patchett wrote about it kept me reading until the end.

One thing about the book is really bugging me, and is therefore very interesting to me. The jacket declares this book a tribute to their friendship. Supposedly, it's not a reflection on one woman's life or the other's, but about "the life they shared." As I was reading, it seemed to be to be more about Anne Patchett's devotion to her friend. Be that as it may, I still couldn't figure out why Patchett would want to be friends with this annoying, self-centered, whiny person. Even at what seemed to be the high points in the friendship and in Lucy Grealy's life, she was still demanding, impractical, depressing, childish, and not a very good friend to Patchett. At no point does Patchett address what she saw in Grealy, or what inspired her to love her friend. Early on in the book, she mentions some intangible magnetism that drew everyone to Grealy. But as I read more and more about Grealy's life, that became less and less of an acceptable explanation. I was left wondering, "Why would Patchett maintain this friendship for so long? And why would she hold Grealy so dear?"

As I thought about these questions, I thought more and more about these women's careers as writers and the images each worked to present of herself. Grealy's book, Autobiography of a Face (which I have not read), presents her story of surviving cancer and the subsequent deformation of her face. The book was successful and won Grealy a strong following of dedicated readers. The back cover copy includes the line, "In this strikingly candid memoir, Grealy tells her story of great suffering and remarkable strength without sentimentality and with considerable wit." So, I'm lead to conclude that this book, among other things, focuses on demostrating how strong, brave, and witty Grealy is.

In Truth & Beauty, Patchett presents another side of Grealy. While calling the book a tribute to their friendship, Patchett is painting an unflattering picture of Grealy that can only be intentional. It's very consistent and at at times Patchett dances around acknowledging the implications of her descriptions of her friend. The only real information we get about Patchett's own personality is that she is loyal, selfless, and likes to follow rules. She repeatedly casts herself as a devoted caregiver, but doesn't give us anything all that real or descriptive about Patchett as an individual.

I'm lead to wonder if Patchett actually thought Grealy was a selfish bitch and was tired about hearing how wonderful her "friend" was. As writers, the two obviously had a competitive relationship. This "tribute" to her friend, is the perfect way for Patchett to share a view of Grealy in which she is anything but likeable, without coming off as a jerk or speaking ill of the dead. It also occurred to me that with the packaging of this book Patchett was able to capitalize on the interest of Grealy's fans and reach an audience who might have idealized Grealy the most, but that's a very cynical thought. Maybe I've been working in publishing for too long.